Excavating apparatus and bucket.



T. S. MILLER.

EXCAVATING APPARATUS AND BUCKET.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10. 1912.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

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EXCAVATING APPARATUS AND BUCKET.

APPLICATION FILED 'FEB. 10. I912.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

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THOMAS SPENCER MILLER, 01? SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

EXCAVATING APPARATUS AND BUCKET.

Application filed February 10, 1912.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THoMAs SPENCER MILLER, a citizen of the 'United States, residing at South Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Excavating Apparatus and Buckets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates broadly and gen erally to new and useful improvements in excavating apparatus and excavating buck ets for use in connection therewith, and more particularly of that character or type in which an open-ended bucket is operated by digging and hoisting lines to draw the bucket through the material being excavated to fill the same and then be conveyed to the point where the load is to be deposited.

Among other objects of the invention, it is my purpose to provide an apparatus in which the bucket lines are operated by a hoisting engine, and which will be so constructed and operated in such a manner that the strain on the engine will be minimized. As is well known in the art, scoop buckets have been operated by a hoisting line and a digging line, the hoisting line passing over a sheave on the end of a boom and being wound on the drum of a hoisting engine, the digging line being connected to the open or digging end of the bucket and passing direct to a second drum of the hoisting engine. During the operation of hoisting and transferring the load these lines are both under severe tension, one being taken up to cause the bucket to move upward and outward, and the other being paid out under a braking resistance to insure the bucket being in a carrying position. The engine, therefore, throughout the operation of hoisting and carryin pulls against itself, subjecting it to excessive strains, resulting in inefliciency and short life, and in an excessive waste of steam.

It is, therefore, an important object of my invention to provide a digging apparatus and a bucket which, when moved to dig, may permit the hoisting line to run slack and, when hoisting and carrying to the point of dump, will allow of the digging line to run slack, so that the ropes practically never pull. against each other.

The invention consists in the improvements to be fully described hereinafter and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

Serial No. 676,816.

I have fully and clearly illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings to be taken as a part of this specification and wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of an excavating apparatus and bucket embodying my invention, showing in full lines the bucket at the outer end of the boom at substantially the point of dumping, the bucket being shown in dotted lines in the position which it takes after being lifted from the ground and being hauled to the position shown in full lines. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view in plan and side elevation of a drum arrangement for operating the bucket; Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of a bucket in the position in which it rests on the ground when the digging operation is to be performed; Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation showing the bucket suspended and swinging to dump the load after being released from carrying position.

I will now proceed to describe the construction of the bucket embodying my in vention, and will afterward describe the apparatus in connection with which it is used and operated.

Referring now to figures of the drawings, 1 designates the bucket body consisting of a substantially rectangular scoop member hav ing a bottom 2, vertical side walls 3. 8, and a closed rear end 4:, the bottom terminating at its front portion in a cutting edge 5 provided with digging teeth 6. The side walls are projected in front of said cutting edge 5, as shown at 7, in Figs. 3 and 4 of the draw ings, the forward upper ends of the side plates or walls being connected by a transverse bridge member 8 spanning the space between the side walls, as indicated in Fig. 2. Pivoted to the bucket body, as at 9, in rear of the center of gravity of the bucket, is a hoisting member, preferably in the form of a rigid bail 10, the legs of which unite, as shown at 11, where the bail is formed with an eye 12 in which is pivoted a shackle 13 for connection with a hoisting line 14 by means of which the bucket is hoisted.

15 designates a hauling line connected by a shackle 16 to a coupling block 17, the lat ter being connected by a branch draft line 18 to the forward portion of the shovel above and in front of the digging edge 5, as shown at 19, so that, by exerting a draft on the line 15, the bucket may be dragged into and through the material being excavated.

I provide means whereby the bail 10 and the bucket body are so related and connected to each other that, when pull is exerted on the hoisting rope 14 to, lift the load, the

bucket body will be locked to the bail and held in horizontal position during movement to the point of dump, after which the bucket body may be released from the bail and permitted to swing down on its pivot to dump the load. This means is independent of both'the hoisting line and the connec tion of the draft line to the bucket body, so that, after the bail has once been locked to the bucket body, neither the hoisting nor draft lines affect or control the operation of said locking means, or the position of the bucket body relative to the bail. This means may take a number of forms, but I prefer to employ a branch line 20 connected at one end, as at 21, to said coupling block 17, the other end portion of which may pass over a sheave 22 on the bail and be connected at its extreme end to an anchorage 23 on the bucket body forward of. the bail. It will thus be seen. that, when the bucket is on the ground and pull is exerted upon the draft line, the bail will be pulled forward toward the open end of the bucket in sub stantially the position shown in Figs. 3 and 6, this movement of the bail being preferably limited by stops 24 fixed to the sides of the bucket.

The locking means employed for locking the bail to the bucket, when the bail is moved to forward position by draft on the line 20, comprises a lever 25 fulcrumed, at a point intermediate its ends, upon a bail, as at 26, the rear end of said lever extending beyond said fulcrum so as to cooperate with a stop 27 on the bail. The lever is so 7 proportioned that its forward end normally gravitates, the fall thereof being limited by the engagement of the rear end of the lever with said stop 27. At its forward end the lever is provided with a transverse pin 28 adapted to cooperate with a latch hook 29 fulcrumed on a pin 30 fixed between vertical spaced plates 31 mounted on the bridgepiece 8, one of said plates and a portion of the second being shown in Figs. 3 and 4, said hook being arranged with its recess at its upper portion, or toward the front of the shovel and being disposed to one side of the lever 25 when the latter engages the hook. Connected with the shaft 30 is an arm 32 connected by a link 33 with the short arm 34 of a bell crank lever fulcrumed on a shaft 35 fixed in said plates 31, and the long arm 36 of which has connected thereto an operating line 37 which, when pulled, operates to throw the hook toward the rear of the bucket and thereby disengage the bail from the hook to permit the bucket to drop to dumping position. .The hook 29 is normally held in looking position by means of a coil spring 37 surrounding said shaft 35 and having one end fixed to one of the side plates, the other end movably engaging arm 36.

The rear end of the latch 29 is provided with a beveled or curved engaging face 25, which is engaged by the pin 28 of the locking lever upon forward movement of the bail, so that said pin rides up over the latch to permit its outer end to drop into engagement with the latch.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of an apparatus of a type in connection with which the bucket just described is adapted to be used 38 designates a platform upon which is mounted a turn table 39, upon which is mounted a hoisting engine 40, and a vertical mast 41, at the foot of which is pivoted a boom 42 sustained by a guy member 43. This engine includes a drum 44 upon which is wound the hoisting rope 14, heretofore described, the same passing from the drum over a sheave 45 on said boom, whence it passes to the bucket. The engine also includes a divided drum, upon one part 46 of which is wound the draft line 15, and upon the other part 47 of which is wound the latch line 37, as shown in said Figs. 1 and 2. The length of the rope 37 is less than that of the hauling line 15 so that, when the bucket is moved outward to dumping position, said line 37 will become taut and tensioned sufficiently to pull the latch to release the bucket from the bail and permit the bucket to dump, the said line 37 being wound reversely on the drum part 47 to the winding of the line 15. The parts being as arranged in Fig. 1, and as heretofore described, when it is desired to dump the load, the line 14 is taken up on its drum 44 until sufficient tension is placed on the line 37 to operate the latch to release the bucket from the bail, during which period the rope 15 is slack. The bucket having been dumped, the line 14 is slackened off to permit the bucket to descend, and during the descent of the bucket, the line 37 may remain taut and the line 15 be slack. When thebucket reaches the surface of the material to be excavated, the drum 46 is operated to take up the line 15 and, in view of the fact that the line 37 is wound reversely on said drum from said line 14, said line 37 will be paid out to permit the spring of the latch to return the hook to locking position, as shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 6. The drum 46 is then operated to continue the haul on the bucket and the drum 44 is oper- 'ated to permit the rope 14 to slack off, which will cause the bucket to be dragged toward the engine through and into the material so that the bucket is filled. During the first movement of the bucket the hauling line is taken up and the latch line is paid out, but, after a few feet of these lines have operated in this manner, the latch line, being shorter than the hauling line, will be completely paid out, and will then have its direction of winding on the drum changed so as to wind in the same direction as the line 14 and be wound therewith on the drum, said line being held taut during the continued digging movement of the bucket. WVhen the pull is first placed on the branch line 20, through its connection with the bail, it pulls the bail forward on the bucket until it strikes the stops 2 1, in which position the pin 28 of the locking lever 25 will have engaged and passed over the hook so as to be engaged by the same, whereby the bail is rigidly locked to the bucket. The bail and bucket maintain this same general relation throughout the digging operation, unless it is desired to release the bail from the bucket, in which case the line 37 may be pulled by hand to release the locking means.

The bucket having been filled, the drum H is operated to take up the line 14, and the divided drum 4:6, 47 is operated to pay out the hauling and latch-operating lines, a continued pull on the hoisting line 14 serving to pull the bucket out to the outer end of the boom. The bucket having reached dumping position, the two-part drum 46, l7 is permitted to continue its rotation to pay out the rope 15 and the rope 37 until the rope 37 is reversed in its winding on the drum part 47, which will cause a sharp pull on the line, serving to release the latch and permit the load to dump. The parts are then in the condition stated at the first part of the description of the operation; namely, with the rope 37 under tension, the rope 15 slack, the rope 14 under tension, and said ropes 37 and 15 being reversely wound on the drum parts. It will be seen that during this operation throughout substantially the entire digging movement and the carrying movement of the bucket one of the operating lines runs free, or under slight tension, and the other under tension, so that the lines do not oppose each other in their pull, resulting in strains on the engine. It will also be seen that the bucket is held in carrying position solely by the locking connection between the bail and the bucket, and that, while in its carrying position, the bucket is maintained in this position without manipulation of either the hoisting line or the hauling line. This is of great advantage over prior structures of which I am aware because, in these structures, it was usually necessary to maintain a continuous pull on both the hauling and hoisting line in order to maintain the bucketrin carrying position which, as heretofore stated, subjected the engine and the boom structure to strains which greatly reduced its efficiency and caused the breakage of the parts, and waste of steam.

I do not desire to be limited to the particular means employed for exerting a pull upon the latch-operating line to release the bucket from the bail, as other means than that shown may be employed for exerting a pull on this line when the bucket reaches the point of dumping, and which would come within the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In combination an excavating bucket comprising an open-ended body, a hoisting bail pivoted to the body, a hoisting line connected to the bail, a drum for the hoisting line, a hauling line connected to the forward end of the bucket, means for locking the bail to the bucket, a line for releasing said means, said hauling line and last-named line being wound on a drum and the said last-named line being of less length than the hauling line.

2. In combination, an excavating bucket comprising an open-ended body, a hoisting bail pivoted to the body, a hoisting line connected to the bail, a hauling line connected to the bucket, a latch for locking the bail to the bucket, a latch line'to release the latch, a drum adapted to operate said hauling line and latch line, and means including said drum and latch line for automatically eXerting a pull on said latch when the hoisting line has moved the body to a predetermined position.

3. In combination, an excavating bucket comprising an open-ended body, a hoisting bail pivoted to the body, a hoisting line connected to the bail and means for operating the same, a hauling line connected to the bucket, means for locking the bail to the bucket, an independent line for releasing said means, means for taking up said independent line while the bucket is being hauled and operating to pay out said independent line during the operation of the hoisting line and to automatically exert a pull on said in dependent line when the hoisting line has hoisted the bucket to a predetermined point.

4. In combination, a boom, an excavating bucket comprising an open-ended body, a hoisting bail pivoted to the body, a hoisting line connected to the bail and passed over the outer end of the boom and wound on a drum at the base of the boom, a hauling line wound on a drum at the base of the boom, and connected to the forward end of the body, a latch for locking the bail to the body, means operable by the hauling line to swing the bail forward into engagement with said latch, a latch line for releasing the latch, said latch line being of less length than the hauling line, and being wound on the hauling line drum, and having its end connected to said drum.

5. In combination, a boom, an excavating bucket comprising an open-ended body, a

hoisting bail pivoted to the body, a hoisting line connected to the bail and passed over the outer end of the boom and wound on a drum at the base of the boom, a hauling line Wound on a drum at the base of the boom, and connected to the forward end of the body, a latch for locking the bail to the body, means operable by the hauling line to swing the bail forward into engagement with said latch, a latch line for releasing the latch, said latch line being wound on the hauling line drum, and being of such length that the paying out of the hauling line will reverse the winding of the latch line on the drum to exert a pull on the latch line to release the latch.

6. In combination, an excavating bucket comprising an open-ended body, a hoisting bail pivoted to the body, a hoisting lino connected to the bail, a hauling line connected to the bucket, means for locking the bail to the bucket, a line for releasing said means,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

